In the Srimad Bhagavatam, Lord Kapila speaks a few quite enigmatic verses: “Although a devotee appears to be merged in the five material elements, the objects of material enjoyment, the material senses and material mind and intelligence, he is understood to be awake and to be freed from the false ego. The living entity can vividly feel his existence as the seer, but because of the disappearance of the ego during the state of deep sleep, he falsely takes himself to be lost, like a man who has lost his fortune and feels distressed, thinking himself to be lost. When, by mature understanding, one can realize his individuality, then the situation he accepts under false ego becomes manifest to him.” (SB 3.27.14-16)
What does it mean? In these verses, Lord Kapila explains more about the nature of the false ego, details how can a person realize his eternal nature while still living in the material body, and calls our attention to the menace of impersonalism, the last snare of Maya, that can prevent a soul striving for perfection from attaining the ultimate goal. Falling into this trap, the transcendentalist gives up the search for his eternal, original position and settles in a position of pseudo-liberation, that is still under material conceptions.
The connection between the soul and the material reality is the false ego. The material manifestation is composed of many planets, countries, bodies, and material experiences and everything is going on more or less automatically because of the influence of the three modes of material nature. There are millions of living beings being born and dying in innumerable universes every second, but it doesn’t at all concern us. However, when the particular material body we call “ours” is under threat, we become terrified. This happens due to our identification with this particular body and its subproducts. Even when we understand we are not the body, we still tend to think we are the mind or the intelligence. This all happens under the influence of the false ego.
The practical effect of the false ego is to create the sense of an identity different from the soul’s eternal identity as an eternal servitor of the Lord. Under the influence of false ego, the soul is prepared to accept any position, be it of a demigod, a human being, a horse, or a cat; any position at all, except his original position as an eternal servant of the Lord.
Under the spell of the false ego, we forget our original identity and become absorbed in lamentation connected with different material situations. Lord Kapila compares this state with the situation who forgets himself while sleeping. While sleeping one doesn’t stop existing, nor goes anywhere, but due to the forgetfulness of sleep, one becomes unconscious. While sleeping one can also identify with illusory situations while dreaming, but these also don’t affect his real existence. Another example given is that a man identifying with his money may think he is lost after losing some money, but this is also due to illusion since only the money was lost.
These concepts, one losing consciousness while sleeping, identifying with illusory situations while dreaming, and identifying with his money illustrate how the soul forgets his eternal nature while absorbed in the material world, although this original spiritual identity is never lost.
Only when we finally realize our eternal position in our relationship with the Lord can this false ego be finally given up. At this point, one may still be living in the body, but by not identifying with it, one can be situated in his original position.
As long as one is not prepared to accept his original position, any other identity one may accept will be still under the concept of false ego. When one finally understands he is not the body, nor the mind or the intelligence, that he is not part of this material world, but part of the eternal spiritual nature, a last trap is set up by Maya: the idea of being one with the Lord. This allows the soul to accept the idea of becoming free from material contamination without accepting his original position of service to the Lord. As Prabhupada explains, this is also a form of false ego, making one believe to be something he is not. The result is that instead of re-attaining one’s original position, in the spiritual planets, the soul can’t go further than the pradhana or the impersonal Brahmajoti, a position from where one can fall back into the material energy.
The idea of becoming one with the Lord is also found in several Vaishnava apasampradayas. Saki-bhekis for example, still common in Vrindavana, believe that one can become one with Krsna’s associates, instead of becoming one of their servants. Similarly, chuda-dharis believe they can become one with Krsna by imitating His rasa dance. Ativadis, common in Jagannatha Puri, worship Lord Jagannatha while at the same time believing they will ultimately become one with Him. They are all attracted to Krsna, but their devotion is somehow misguided and transformed into a desire to become Him, instead of aiming to serve Him.
Other Sahajiyas groups adopt a false form of siddha-pranali, where one acquires an imaginary relationship with Krsna. There is a true siddha-pranali, based on reviving our eternal relationship with the Lord by practicing Krsna Consciousness in the association of pure devotees, but, that’s different from the imitation practiced by these groups. This imaginary siddha-pranali is just another form of upadhi, an imposed material designation that is under the influence of false ego. Prabhupada mentions this on Nectar of devotion 16.
Only when we can survive the onslaught of all these misconceptions and keep ourselves on the proper spiritual path that comes to us through our Parampara, can we finally come to understand our real relationship with Krsna, finally surpassing the influence of the false ego.